More praise for Corporations Are Not People
“If you want to know how to save our democracy, you must read this book. Clements tells how the logic of “corporate personhood” has allowed corporations to trump the rights of people. In vivid stories he recounts the real consequences of that tortured logic. Best of all, he paints a compelling picture of what “we the people” can do to win back our democracy.”
—Fran Korten, Publisher, YES! Magazine
“Clements is our 21st-century Paul Revere, spreading the word that we must rise against the economic royalists. The billionaires are on the march, but Clements is faster and smarter, and his is the noble cause of democracy unbound.”
—John Nichols, coauthor of Dollarocracy; Correspondent, The Nation; and cofounder, Free Press
“As a conservative, I support property rights and freer markets but have to question the notion that corporations deserve the same constitutional protections as ‘we the people.’”
—Michael D. Ostrolenk, cofounder and National Director, Liberty Coalition
“Jeff Clements has given Americans a blueprint to renew our country’s promise. More relevant than ever, this updated edition of Corporations Are Not People chronicles the remarkably vibrant, grassroots and nation-wide movement to “get money out and voters in.” Clements’ last, completely new chapter, “Do Something,” offers feisty tools for every American who wants to join the fight to achieve our democracy.”
— Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Editor & Publisher, The Nation
“Reclaiming our democracy from corporate domination is the great struggle of our time. The good news, as Corporations Are Not People shows, is that a growing movement is mobilizing to take back our democracy.”
—Robert Weissman, President, Public Citizen
“The new, updated edition of Corporations Are Not People is needed now more than ever. Americans are deeply troubled by the growing influence of corporations and big money in our political discourse and government. We need elected officials to spend more time on policy, on debating and deliberating on issues – and less time dialing for dollars. We need to overturn Citizens United, and this book shows why and how. Read Corporations Are Not People, and join the work to save our democracy.”
-Congressman Jim McGovern, lead sponsor of constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United
“Ben Cohen is a person. Jerry Greenfield is a person. Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Inc.? Not a person. Clements tells how corporations took over our Constitution, our democracy, and our economy that used to work for everyone. Best of all, he shows how we can get them back.”
—Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, founders, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream, and cofounders, Business for Democracy
“Jeff Clements, in this remarkably clear-eyed historical and contemporary analysis of stifling corporate supremacy, shows how “we the people” can make a “more perfect union” by subordinating these giant corporate entities to the constitutional sovereignty of the people. If we do this, and Clements shows where the people are arousing, we will stop the debilitating corporatization of America. We will turn corporations from being our masters into being our servants, as envisioned by state chartering laws 200 years ago. ”
–Ralph Nader
“Question for the Supreme Court: If a corporation is a person, where’s its navel? Corporations Are Not People is more than a book—it’s a democracy manual. Let’s put it to work.”
—Jim Hightower, bestselling author; national radio commentator; and Editor, Hightower Lowdown
“If you care about our democracy and want to know what ‘we the people’ can do to reclaim it, read this book. You will be inspired to stand up to demand our country back.”
—John Bonifaz, cofounder and President, Free Speech for People
“A clarion call to action in defense of democracy…Arguably the most important book on corporations ever written. Essential reading for every citizen.”
—David Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World and Agenda for a New Economy
“Clements makes a powerful case against the doctrine that corporations enjoy the same free speech protections as individual Americans and lays out in chilling detail the dangerous implications for our democracy.”
—Caroline Fredrickson, President, American Constitution Society
“A must-read for every real person who is fed up with the reign of corporate supercitizens in American politics. Clements insightfully explains why and how ‘we the people’ must kill the runaway Frankenstein monster created by the Supreme Court.”
—James Nelson, Montana Supreme Court Justice (Retired)
“Excessive corporate influence is one of the greatest threats to our democracy. This book will help citizens make real progress in freeing our political system from manipulation.”
—Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards
“Clements’s definitive work on the capture of America’s political process by corporate power is clearly written and persuasive.”
—Robert A. G. Monks, author of Citizens DisUnited; business leader and shareholder activist; and former Chair, Maine Republican Committee
“Corporations Are Not People will inform you, outrage you, and inspire you to return corporations to their proper position as tools of public policy rather than masters of it.”
—Barry Eisler, author of The Last Assassin
“There is no better primer to describe how we arrived where we are today and our opportunity to change the direction of our nation.”
—Peg Lautenschlager, former Attorney General of Wisconsin
“If you are ready to fight back against corporate rule, this book gives you valuable tools to do so.”
-David Cobb, co-founder, Move To Amend
“This is a book of clear-eyed realism and optimism, and we need them both. At a time when the US Supreme Court is dismantling campaign spending laws, and massive inequalities in our economy are flooding into our politics, Jeff Clements’ full-throated defense of the importance of people in our democracy is more important than ever. This new, updated edition of Corporations Are Not People lifts up efforts by citizens to halt this travesty, and shows that citizens, when they organize and speak out, can make real change happen. “
-Miles Rapoport, President, Common Cause
“A brilliant contribution to the literature on the crime of corporate personhood—and what we can do about it.” —Thom Hartmann, bestselling author of Unequal Protection and Rebooting the American Dream, and host of the Thom Hartmann Program
“Corporations Are Not People is a powerful indictment of transnational corporations and the system that enables them. It takes focused aim at these huge conglomerations of money that wield the power of life and death over mere human beings, that curtail individual liberty by turning mountains into valleys, plains into deserts, and rivers into sewers, and that transform the pursuit of happiness into a run for your life. Seasoned attorney Jeff Clements’ book sets off a national, indeed global, debate over how best to control the massively destructive power that these legally fictitious ‘persons’ use to deal death and disability to themselves and all the real human beings—men, women and children—whose lives they dominate. Any living, breathing person interested in building on the promise of America’s past to create a bright American and world future would do well to read and weigh carefully the core message of this book—‘corporations are not now and never have been people; let’s keep it that way.’”
–James S. Turner, author (with Lawrence Chickering), Voice of the People, The Transpartisan Imperative in American Life; Chair, Citizens for Health; and Partner, Swankin & Turner
“Corporations Are Not People may not be a parenting book, yet I can think of no more important book for every American parent to read. Liberal or conservative, we need to understand what kind of government, and what kind of broken political system, we are handing down to our children. Jeff Clements’ readable, eye-opening, and deeply disturbing examination of the way large, multinational corporations are infiltrating all corners of our public and private lives is a wake-up call for every parent, for every citizen, for everyone concerned about our collective future.”
–Katrina Kenison, author, The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother’s Memoir
CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE 